Bitter Editorial About All The Potential: Rob Middleton

[Dennishjr]

We need visionaries. We need true coalition builders, not someone with empty platitudes (One city, One Jacksonville). We need leaders who will take a stand, even if we disagree with them. We need leaders, not party bosses. Low expectations and lack of vision never helped make any great city great. We need leaders who will stand up to unbridled development and put us on a path to responsible and sustainable growth. Overbuild (or raze) it and they will come. Until something newer and flashier comes along. Look to Portland, Oregon for a city which tackled suburban sprawl decades ago and whose downtown has thrived. Maybe we should lure retired Charleston Mayor Joe Riley out of retirement. Thirty years in the job and folks from all corners gasped when he decided not to run again.

All that said, I agree with others posting here about Brooklyn, 5 Points, MOCA, The Cummer, the potential for expanded mass transit, etc. But then look at Lavilla. A historic neighborhood that was razed as part of Mayor Ed Austin's 'River City Renaissance' plan over two decades ago. Urban renewal at its worst. Drive into downtown from I-95 and look at the asphalt, broken concrete and grass parking lots. Further stabilization and revitalization of Springfield, Jacksonville's oldest suburb, is largely ignored by the city. There are few neighborhoods with the history and diversity of architectural styles in the entire southeast. Jacksonville is unique in Florida in that it was the largest urban center in the state before and after the Fire of 1901. Springfield, Riverside/Avondale, San Marco, what was Lavilla, and other neighborhoods all create the historic fabric of Jacksonville, much like Charleston and Savannah - cities who are not continuously asking "What is our identity?". While it took a long time and loads of hard work, they embraced their identity and tourists flock there, boosting the tax base. Crack open Wayne Woods book, 'Jacksonville's Architectural Heritage', or more closely follow the posts here on Metro Jacksonville to see what has been lost to the wrecking ball and "progress." Jacksonville's identity is in the rich and diverse history, and the equally rich and diverse historic architectural heritage throughout this huge and often hot mess of consolidation. Jacksonville and the beaches have a lot going for them, but how long will it take until we have leaders who rise up to the challenge of leading the charge toward the "greatness" for which we yearn? I want someone with a truly comprehensive plan. I want to be inspired.

[manasia]

While we have our problems here in Atlanta. Everything in that article is why I moved from Jacksonville and why I have a hard time convincing myself of moving back to Jacksonville.

I would love to be back home; but I do not want to live in a town that is not progressive.

[InnerCityPressure]

Bold New Potential Of The South

Bold New P. O. S.

[SunKing]

the problem is not lack simply a lack of leadership.  it is more the effects of consolidation.  too many issues for too many people to decide on.  its controlled chaos.

Nope. Not in the least. It's leadership pure and simple. Nashville has been consolidated longer than JAX and is absolutely booming, with DT leading the way.  Indy is another example, Louisville another, Charlotte for all intents and purposes is as well. Norfolk too. That is just off the top of my head and not many cities are consolidated to begin with.  This is one totally bogus crutch that needs to go once and for all.

There was a lot going on DT during both the Godbold and Delaney administrations, albeit some of it misguided perhaps, but a lot was happening. JAX was consolidated then too.   

Really???  Were you DT last night?  I saw a lot of people enjoying an evening on Bay Street at multiple establishments.  And this was after 10pm.   I dont remember anything like that except maybe Milk Bar and Annie Tiques back in the day.

Nobody seemed to really be concerned about "leadership."

But my point is more about the tools that we give our leadership.  Those other cities you mention grant more power to the consolidated municipalities to provide for independent budgets of the county. 

[thelakelander]

Nashville and Indianapolis are consolidated and cities like Memphis, Charlotte and San Diego covers hundreds of miles, yet they've found a way to create vibrant downtowns, so consolidation can't necessarily be used as an excuse for some of the issues plaguing Jax. One of the most frustrating things to me in the past has been that this stuff isn't really rocket science. All we need to do is open our eyes and look at the world outside of Duval County's borders.  The answers and examples (both good and bad) are there, so there's no need for us to make things more difficult and time consuming by trying to recreate the wheel.

With that in mind, I believe the best thing for Jax would be visionary leadership. Just about everything else is already in place and has been in place for a while now.  You can have all the money and community activism in the world but if your leadership isn't a true facilitator, those efforts won't reach their full potential or economic impact on the surrounding landscape.

For example, we've spent as much money in downtown revitalization over the last 30 years as many other vibrant cities across the country. We've invested in convention centers, urban retail marketplaces, hotels, riverwalks, stadiums and arenas, mass transit, parks, etc. We've also seen our surrounding urban neighborhoods enjoy economic progress despite the rapid growth of our burbs and surrounding counties. Yet, when you get past money spent and start looking at site design, architectural design, transportation/land use integration, compatibility, historic preservation, context sensitive streets, quality of public schools, public space maintenance/integration with surrounding land uses at the pedestrian scale level.....all things largely driven by public policy and investment.....you'll quickly discover where we've lacked big time. 

These are the kind of items and areas we'll need to put a lot more public effort into and these things require leadership that understands why they are important.  These are the type of "non sexy" items that when combined with money and civic activism can turn a place like DT Jax into an environment like the Inner Harbor, Chattanooga's riverfront or Charleston's urban core faster than most assume.

[thelakelander]

Really???  Were you DT last night?  I saw a lot of people enjoying an evening on Bay Street at multiple establishments.  And this was after 10pm.   I dont remember anything like that except maybe Milk Bar and Annie Tiques back in the day.

Nobody seemed to really be concerned about "leadership."

Depends on what you're comparing the area you saw last night with. If compared with a place that has truly embraced urbanism, even our best neighborhoods and nodes can seem pretty underwhelming. If compared with a place that has not or with what those few blocks resembled a few years ago, then you see some progress.

Speaking of DT nightlife and activity, I work downtown and put in a late night on Thursday. Around 9pm, I left the office only to find out my garage card became inactive sometime between 3pm and 5pm. When you need assistance at 9pm, you really see how much the place empties out.  In the end, I had to leave my truck in the garage, get someone to pick me up and return during the day when other humans were in the vicinity.

[MusicMan]

IMO one of the biggest reasons for failure in the Downtown Urban Core can be found downtown. At 3 Independent Drive, to be exact.
The Chamber of Commerce. If you work there then you see all the crap downtown every day and either decide it's too difficult to fix or you just don't give a damn.  I'm under the impression that one of the core responsibilities of the CoC is to promote the City of Jacksonville as a great place to live work and play, and to relocate your business here. While there have been plenty of successes in the last 20 years there have been almost none within a 3 mile radius of the actual site of the CoC building in Downtown. The Shipyards lies vacant and polluted. The Laura Street Trio is in shambles. And the list goes on (I'm seeing you Berkman II)...............  Not sure what you folks think but I give them a grade of  "D".

[thelakelander]

What about EverBank and Citizens Property Insurance bringing thousands in?

[SunKing]

I just find it odd to blame "leadership" without determining the challenges that face said leadership.
I don't rely on the mayor or council to make my bed for me in the morning any more than I would expect them to "fix" Downtown.

[thelakelander]

^Exactly.  If you had visionary leadership,  after investing millions in a convention center and hotel, they'd be next to each other instead of a mile a part. After spending  $184 million on a fixed transit system, with visionary leadership the route would have actually taken people to where they wanted to go. Many of our big public investments would have been within walking distance of its stations too. I can come up with tons of examples of bad implementation of needed things, leading to the environment that exists today.

[MusicMan]

Can't the CoC provide some of that "Visionary Leadership"?  I'm not seeing it.

[iMarvin]

This editorial pretty much sums up how I feel about Jacksonville. The constant waste of potential and complacency with the average and below-average has made me want to move away as soon as I can.

[MusicMan]

Just had brunch at Uptown Kitchen.  Well done.

Drove through Downtown on the way home. It was depressing. The fellows observations are spot on.

[SunKing]

I just find it odd to blame "leadership" without determining the challenges that face said leadership.
I don't rely on the mayor or council to make my bed for me in the morning any more than I would expect them to "fix" Downtown.

unfortunately the simile doesn't hold up.

The City is the controlling landowner downtown and the administrator of multiple levels of policy and policy making vehicles that decide every square inch of the place.

It would be more accurate if you didn't expect the city to make your bed, if the bed was being watched by surveillance camera, with five people being paid to make it, (but staring judgmentally at you instead) and a sign painted onto the headboard that warns you that making the bed is a jailable offense.

The City's control over DT is a point well taken and that is indeed the missed opportunity. Downtown is simply another council district fighting for a voice.  Without some autonomy, there is no real accountability and therefore nothing gets accomplished-at the leadership level.  You make downtown or for that matter our urban core, a legitimate governing district like a NY borough and things would get done.

[Tacachale]

^Lack of residents is a bigger issue there. Unlike Riverside, Avondale, and San Marco, there are too few people living Downtown to advocate effectively. The people who advocate for downtown by and large don't live there. There also aren't enough people to support many "neighborhood" businesses, so most of what crops up there serves commuters.